Building a good SEO strategy for a small business comes down to
1 Painstakingly understanding your target audience
2 Know the customer journey
3 Ready to do the work
But don’t let the ready to do the work scare you; for real, it’s no big deal.
I’ve heard lots of small business owners complain, saying, ‘Grace, I know that SEO is crucial to my business, but whenever I remember that I’ll have to compete with the big giants who have millions of dollars to spare for those PR backlinks and guest posts, I run back to my cave.😂 😂
Because of the competition, many SMEs resort to paid ads. Ads are great, but they aren’t sustainable; the moment you stop paying for them, the result stops, and it’s expensive. Which, to me, ruins the beauty of marketing: spending a little bit but raking- in big bucks.😎😎
But what if I told you there’s a way to rank your business in the SERPs with a minimal budget? The best part is that you’ll see results in the first month.
Would you jump on it?
SPOILER ALERT: This method does not require even a single backlink
How to build a good SEO strategy
1 Know your audience
The first step to building a good SEO strategy is to learn what your ideal customers are searching for.
Heads up, before the keyword research, you’ve to identify the people you plan to serve
I’m surprised anytime I see people launching a product without identifying their market. It’s just like building a mall in the desert and anticipating to get annual sales of $100 million.It can’t work
I’ve had a friend who said, Grace, my products are superb, so they’ll sell. After a few months, she came back crying. There were no sales! No sales!
This is where many miss it. You should tie your product to solving a real need
Key takeaway
| Find a problem you want to solve Identify how to tell people you’ve got a solution to their problem. These people are called your ideal customers. |
Identifying your ideal customer profile (ICP) is a crucial step for any business, as it helps to focus marketing and sales efforts on the most promising prospects.
Here are some steps to help you identify your ICP:
[i] Analyze Your Current Customers
Look at your existing customers, especially those who are most satisfied and profitable. Identify common characteristics such as industry, company size, location, and the challenges they face.
[iii] Look at Your Product/Service
Consider the features and benefits of your product or service. Determine which types of businesses or individuals would benefit the most from what you offer.
[iv] Demographic and Psychographic Details
For B2C, focus on demographics like age, gender, income level, education, and lifestyle. For B2B, consider the role, department, and level of seniority that best aligns with your offering.
[vi] Check Your Competition
Look at your competitors’ customer base. This can give you insights into market segments you might have overlooked.
[vii] Use Analytics Tools
Leverage tools like Google Analytics, CRM software, or social media analytics to gather data about your website visitors, customer base, and engagement trends.
You can use the chart below to get a better understanding
2 Look for long-tailed keywords.
These are longer, more specific phrases that are less competitive. They often have lower search volumes, but they can be highly relevant to a particular audience.
Once you’ve identified your ideal customers, begin your keyword research. You’ll have to look for long-tail keywords with very low search volume; when I say very low, I mean keywords with a search volume of 0-100.
I’ve got folks that ask: search volume between 0-100 in a month? What do they do with that?
If there’s anything Google loves, its topical authority. If your website shows topical authority for a niche, they will reward you with thousands of visitors monthly.
These low-search-volume keywords are a goldmine and don’t have zero searches. In reality, it’s just that keyword tools can’t quantify the actual search. They can bring in 100 to 1000 traffic monthly. You must ensure that the number of keywords you select is anywhere from 30 to 100. Then, build a keyword cluster.
If you have 100 keywords and each keyword brings in 10 searches monthly, you get 1000 in your first month. In reality, it brings much more. I’m picturing the worst-case scenario.
Use keyword research tools like Google’s Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz. These tools can help you find keywords with low search volumes.
3 Analyze the search intent.
Understand the intent behind the keywords. Are users looking for information, trying to purchase, or seeking a specific website? Ideally, it would be best to target keywords at the middle of the funnel or at the bottom of the funnel. This ensures that you are making money as the traffic trickles in.
4 Craft quality content
This is the crux of this strategy. Your watchword should be “no mediocre content.” Put yourself in the shoes of your ICP and write to satisfy them. In return, Google will send more traffic your way.
Crafting high-quality articles involves thorough research, clear organization, and articulate writing. It’s about understanding the audience, presenting facts accurately, and maintaining an engaging narrative flow. Attention to detail, creativity, and a strong command of language are essential to transforming ideas into compelling, informative, and reliable content.
5 Evaluate and Refine
After selecting your keywords, monitor their performance. Use analytics to refine your strategy and focus on the keywords that drive the most relevant traffic.
Why this strategy works like magic
Google operates a tier-ranking system. You’ll have to find which tier your website falls in. For this post, we are focusing on websites at level 0. This means they don’t get any monthly search
This is what I mean.
Photo credit: TechJackie
The Tier column represents the number of monthly visits your website gets, while the traffic column shows the traffic volume of keywords you should target. If you do this, you’ll rank organically faster without a power boost. Power boosts are external factors like link building.
Final thought
So, you have the SEO strategy you should use this year for your business if you can’t pay for backlinks. Remember it’s
- Identify your customers
- Target long-tail keywords
- Keywords should have a search volume of 0-100
- The number of selected keywords you intend to write on should be between 30 and 100
- Create amazing content
Result: If done correctly, you’ll rank on Google’s first page in your first month